Page 1848 - Politics
Government shutdown 'damaging' US economy: JP Morgan chief
After more than a month, the partial US government shutdown is "damaging" the world's largest economy, the head of JP Morgan Chase said Wednesday. The impasse between President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats over funding for a wall on the border with Mexico is hurting growth, as are other factors like trade, banking chief Jamie Dimon told CNBC. The impact on consumer and business confidence is particularly notable. "Now it's coming down a little bit, because of that, because of trade, all the noise around the world about populism," he said. Dimon also insisted on the need to resolve the US-China trade war. "It's the most important relationship geopolitically in the world for the next hundred years," he said. While acknowledging the administration "has raised very serious trade issues and they are right," Dimon worried about the fits and starts in the talks between Beijing and Washington. "Both sides want to resolve it. And you see every time it looks like we might resolve .
Putin welcomes Erdogan to Moscow to discuss Syrian war
Russian president Vladimir Putin welcomed his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the Kremlin on Wednesday, where the pair were set to discuss the ongoing conflict in Syria, a country in which both nations have a military presence, albeit on opposing sides.
Modi's Bengal rally likely to be rescheduled: BJP leader
A rally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi which was proposed to be held on January 28 in North 24 Parganas district's Thakurnagar area is likely to be rescheduled to February 2, a senior party leader said Wednesday. "As of now, Prime Minister Narendra Modiji's January 28 rally at Bongoan' Thakurnagar area has been rescheduled to February 2. On February 2 he will address another rally at Durgapur and on February 8 he will address a rally at Siliguri. However, nothing is final as of now," BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha said. This is the second time in one month that the West Bengal BJP has rescheduled Modi's rallies. Earlier it was decided that the prime minister will address a rally at Brigade Parade Ground on February 8. It was recently cancelled and the party said he would attend three rallies in the state starting next week. It was then decided that Modi would address a rally at Thakurnagar on January 28, another at Siliguri in north Bengal on February 2 and the third one at ...
BHU cardiologist's hunger strike enters fourth day
Banaras Hindu University cardiologist Om Shankar's indefinite hunger strike, demanding a separate AIIMS for Varanasi, entered its fourth day on Wednesday. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and President Ram Nath Kovind visited the city for Pravasi Bharatiya Divas but my demand for health has gone unheard," the senior cardiologist said from the entrance gate of BHU, which is the venue for the protest. Shankar's protest has received support from Aam Admi Party leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, who in a Tweet on Monday, said AAP supports the doctor's demand for a separate AIIMS in Varanasi. "Patients from neighbouring states and also from Nepal visit BHU for treatment. The varsity's medical college is packed, as a result many patients do not get admission there," Shankar said, explaining the need for a world class medical facility in the city.
Indian-American Senator Kamala Harris leads in Daily Kos straw poll
Indian-American Senator Kamala Harris has emerged at the top of a Daily Kos straw poll released Wednesday, two days after she officially plunge in the 2020 US presidential race. Harris, 54, garnered 27 per cent of the 28,000 votes, followed by Senator Elizabeth Warren with 18 per cent, Daily Kos said Wednesday as it released the results of its second straw poll. Former US vice president Joe Biden who has not announced his 2020 bid yet was on the third slot with 13 per cent and Senator Bernie Sanders fourth with 12 per cent. Sanders is yet to announce his candidature. Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard has been at the bottom of the straw poll with just one per cent of the straw poll members voting for the first Hindu presidential candidate. Harris announced her presidential bid on Monday, the Martin Luther King Jr Day. Within the first 24 hours of her announcement, she raised USD 1.5 million from small donors. She is not accepting donations from political action committees, a strong ...
Huawei executive has strong case against extradition - Canadian envoy
OTTAWA (Reuters) - A top executive from Huawei Technologies Co Ltd [HWT.UL] being held in Canada can make "strong arguments" against extradition to the United States, in part due to President Donald Trump's politicization of the case, Canada's ambassador to China said.
Madhya Pradesh farmer gets Rs 13 under loan waiver scheme
In what can be called a cruel joke on suffering farmers in Madhya Pradesh, some of them are getting pennies in the name of loan waiver after the Congress government promised to waive debts up to Rs 2 lakh of each applicant.
US could see 'zero' growth in first quarter if shutdown continues, says White House chief economist
The US could post zero economic growth in the first quarter if the federal government does not reopen, the chairman of President Donald Trump's Council of Economic Advisers said Wednesday. "If [the shutdown] extended for the whole quarter, and given the fact that the first quarter tends to be low because of residual seasonality, then you could end up with a number very close to zero in the first quarter, Kevin Hassett, Chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), said in an interview to CNN. Asked whether GDP growth could hit zero in the quarter, he said, "Yes, we could." At the same time, he asserted that the second quarter would be humongous if the government reopened. "It would be like four or five per cent," Hassett said. He also said the chances of a recession in 2020 is close to zero. "They're very, very close to zero," he said. "We have so much momentum. There was just a great industrial production number. We just had a great jobs number. There's a lot of ...
EVM hack show was Sibal's conspiracy : BJP leader N Ramachandra Rao
Reacting to the recent event organised in London where a self-proclaimed hacker Syed Shuja claimed that EVMs can be tampered with, BJP leader N Ramachandra Rao on Wednesday said that that the whole episode is a ploy of Congress party leader Kapil Sibal. "We believe Syed Shuja, Kapil Sibal and Ashish Ray had conspired to defame BJP, Indian democracy and BJP leader Kishan Reddy," said Rao."We requested Telangana DGP that a criminal case be made against them and they be arrested. He assured us that action will be taken," he added.The Delhi Police on Tuesday registered a case to investigate the claim made by Shuja that EVMs can be tampered with, as a political row erupted over the issue.
Will support Congress if next PM is from their party: AAP's Amanatullah Khan
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Amanatullah Khan on Wednesday said that AAP will extend support to the Congress if the next Prime Minister will be from the Rahul Gandhi-led party."Somebody told me outside that people are saying they will vote for the Congress because the next prime minister will be from that party. We are saying that if this happens, then we will also extend support to their Prime Minister (Abhi bahar mujhse koi keh raha tha ki log keh rahe hain ki Congress ko vote isliye denge kyunki Pradhanmantri unka banega, hum ye keh rahe hain ki agar Pradhanmantri unka hi bana toh hum bhi usey support kar denge)," Khan said at an event here.His statement comes after leaders from both AAP and Congress have said that they are currently in no mood to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections together."Our party will contest Lok Sabha elections in Delhi, Punjab and Haryana alone. For Congress, their arrogance is bigger than national interest, it is visible from recent statements of Punjab .
FIF Terror funding case: NIA raids 8 locations across India
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday conducted raids at eight different locations across India in connection with Falah-i-Insaniyat Foundation (FIF) terror funding case.The raids were conducted in Gonda (Uttar Pradesh), Sikar and Jaipur (Rajasthan), Delhi, Valsad and Surat (Gujarat), and Kasargod (Kerala), read a statement.In Gonda, NIA, along with the Uttar Pradesh ATS, raided the residence of a Madrassa teacher, named Maulana Iftikhar Ahmed. The team interrogated Ahmed for around seven hours.During the searches across India, the NIA teams seized 26 SIM cards, 23 mobile phones, five memory cards, five hard disks, nine debit cards, one laptop, approx 2 kg gold items and cash worth Rs 21 lakhs.The terror funding case was registered by NIA on July 2 last year under Sections 17, 18, 21, 38 and 40 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. As per the FIR, some Delhi-based individuals were receiving funds from FIF operatives based abroad and were using the same to ...
Rahul takes on BJP, says they want to destroy the Indian Constitution
Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday lashed out at the BJP-led central government for taking away the freedom of various institutions of the country and said that their final motive is to destroy the Indian constitution."Before 2014 Lok Sabha elections, India's institutions, judiciary, Election Commission, educational structure, medical structure were independent. The Judicial system used to openly speak truth. But ever since BJP came into power, they started attacking every institution in the country," Rahul said while addressing a gathering at District Bar Association's oath-taking ceremony in Amethi."How they did it? They started putting people with similar ideologies into the institutions. They attacked the independence of institutions. Earlier your (bar association's) job was to give justice. But now you have to do double job - firstly you give justice to people and secondly you have to protect your own institution. It feels good when somebody stands in the judicial ...
Rahul hits out at PM Modi in Amethi, says Rafale deal and Demonetisation were a scam
Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday attacked the central government and said that Rafale deal and Demonetisation were scams.While addressing a gathering here, he said, "Don't you think Demonetisation was a scam? Banning 1000 and 500 rupee note was a well thought out scam. You should question Modi ji in this regard."Gandhi further accused the Prime minister of giving away Rs 30,000 crore to Anil Ambani."It was not Rahul Gandhi but the former French president Hollande who said this, but now Modi ji does not even utter a word. This is because if you are guilty then you don't speak much about it. How did the PM take this decision without defence minister? The defence minister didn't tell the price citing defence pact as the reason."Hitting out at the BJP, Gandhi alleged, "BJP wants people to fight against each other. Our goal is to take everyone forward. This is a fight between ideologies; Congress ideology has won and will win in future as well."Lauding Congress governments in Madhya Pradesh, ...
Trump to deliver State of Union on Jan 29 as planned, despite Pelosi's request to delay
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said he will deliver his annual address to the joint session of the US Congress as scheduled on January 29, despite her request that he delay his speech because of security concerns until a partial government shutdown is resolved. The move is the latest in a game of political brinkmanship between Trump and Pelosi as they remain in loggerheads over the president's demand for border wall funding that has forced a partial government shutdown that is now in its second month. Pelosi has become the face of Democratic opposition to Trump in Congress. "There are no security concerns regarding the State of the Union address. Therefore, I will be...fulfilling my constitutional duty to deliver important information to the people and Congress of the United States of America...," Trump wrote in the letter dated January 23. The letter was sent in response to a January 3 letter from the Speaker of the House in which she
Odisha Congress president is corrupt: Srikant Jena
Former Congress leader Srikant Jena on Wednesday accused the Odisha Congress president Niranjan Patnaik of being corrupt.Speaking to ANI he said, "Earlier I had written letters to Rahul Gandhi and Jitendra Singh. The man who has been appointed as the president Niranjan Patnaik is corrupt by his own admission in the Odisha High Court. They have deposited Rs 600 crores to the Odisha government. I have been writing to Gandhi as this is not in the interest of the state and party."Jena, who was recently expelled from the primary membership of the Congress, on January 21 accused party president Rahul Gandhi of surrendering himself before the Patnaik family and mining mafias in Odisha.Jena has also claimed that he would expose Gandhi that the latter would "not be able to show his face in public"."I am glad that I am relieved from the responsibility of remaining in the Congress party. I had written many letters to Rahul Gandhi asking whether he will stand with Patnaikbrothers and mining ...
Huawei executive has strong case against extradition -Canadian envoy
OTTAWA (Reuters) - A top executive from Huawei Technologies Co Ltd being held in Canada can make "strong arguments" against extradition to the United States, in part due to remarks made by U.S. President Donald Trump, Canada's ambassador to China said.
Huawei executive has strong case against extradition: Canadian envoy
OTTAWA (Reuters) - A top executive from Huawei Technologies Co Ltd being held in Canada can make "strong arguments" against extradition to the United States, in part due to remarks made by U.S. President Donald Trump, Canada's ambassador to China said.
Kerala defends management of temples by the Devaswom boards
The Kerala government has defended the existing system of the management of temples by Travancore and Cochin Devaswom boards, saying the state can control the secular affairs of a temple by suitable measures.
IAFTX 2019 to be held in Pune in March
With the aim to synergise humanitarian mine action and joint peace operations, the Indian Africa Field Training Exercise (IAFTX) will be held in Pune from March 18 to 27, officials said Wednesday. The final planning conference to work out the modalities for IAFTX 2019 is being conducted in Pune on Wednesday and Thursday, they said. "Delegates from Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, South Africa, Tanzania, Namibia, Mozambique, Uganda, Niger and Zambia are attending the conference," the Army said in a statement. The field training exercise would be conducted at Aundh Military Station and College of Military Engineering in Pune from March. "The joint training exercise is being conducted with more than a dozen African countries and India," the statement said, adding, it aims to synergise humanitarian mine action and joint peace operations. The initial planning conference for the exercise was held in December 2018. The IAFTX-2019 is a positive step towards growing political and ...
Idea we aren't accessible to press 'absolutely laughable', says White House press secy
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders on Wednesday brushed aside criticism that the Trump administration is not accessible to the press, saying that such an opinion is "absolutely laughable". The White House has not held a news conference -- its customary daily one -- for over a month now. "I take questions from reporters every single day. The idea that this White House isn't accessible to the press is absolutely laughable," Sanders told 'Fox & Friends'. However, she was noncommittal about the future of White House press briefings. "We'll see what happens. As the president said yesterday, he doesn't like the decorum in the White House. Look, we are in the business of getting information to the American people, not making stars out of people that want to become contributors on CNN," Sanders said. The White House Press Secretary has clashed with several high-profile White House reporters in the past, including CNN correspondent Jim Acosta and American Urban Radio Networks ...